Ewww, Carrots!!

One day, when Maya isn't very puppy like or isn't around any more, I'm going to think back at all her antics and smile.  But in order to make that happen, I need to remember those antics.  And that's where this blog comes in.  I've been pretty back about keeping up on it, and that needs to change.  I would say that I'm going to write something cute or funny or annoying or whatever every day, but we all know that's not going to happen.  So instead, I'll just say that I'll write when I remember something cute she does.

So today -- Maya's introduction to carrots.

I never give Maya people food.  Or I almost never give Maya people food.  There are two exceptions: I use Cheerios as her treats and for training, and I give her plain rice (maybe a little plain chicken with it) if she's sick or has an upset tummy.  But that's it.

Last night, I was munching on some baby carrots and accidentally dropped half of one.  Maya was in the kitchen with me, and she immediately jumped all over it, carrying it to her favorite spot under the table.  Then she set it down and smelled it.  And then she tried to bite it.  And then she dropped it again and tried licking it.  For the next 5 minutes or so, she kept trying to figure out what to do with it.  She couldn't seem to actually bite it, and licking it wasn't doing any good.  After many attempts, she finally did manage to crack it, at which point she tasted it for the first time (I think). 

She doesn't like carrots.  After finally getting it cracked open, she set it down on the ground and walked away.  I guess I don't need to worry about dropping any carrots on the ground.  And the best part?  I grabbed the camera and actually got her reaction on video.  =)

Sneaky Thief

Maya has always been a bit of a thief.  I think it's just a dog thing, but since she's my first dog, I could be completely wrong.  I've written about her being a thief before.  If you'd like to reminisce, click here.  She was just a little puppy then, so she's gotten better.

She still loves socks, so I have to be careful about those.  But now, she also likes any piece of clothing that she can get her paws on.  To be more specific, anything that is in my closet.  Now to be fair, it's only the clothes on the floor, but still. 

Maya loves hanging out in my bedroom when I'm getting dressed.  I know it has nothing to do with me; it's just when she can guarantee the closet door will be opened sooner or later.  She'll sneak in there as soon as I'm distracted and take off running with whatever goody she finds.  This past week, as soon as I noticed she was in there, I would quietly close the door behind her, leaving it slightly cracked so I could still look in.  She'd grab something and head to the door, only to find it closed behind her.  Since she knows "drop," I would tell her to drop.  As soon as she did, I opened the door.  The first few times, she immediately grabbed her goody again, so I closed the door again and told her to drop.  She caught on pretty quickly that she would not make it out of the closet with something in her mouth.

I thought we had turned a corner yesterday.  We were playing fetch and her ball accidentally went into the closet (which I had inadvertently left cracked).  She used to just run in there and maybe come out with her ball, maybe come out with a goody.  This time, she stood outside the closet and barked at the door until I went and got the ball for her. 

At first I felt a little bad because I had made her scared of the closet.  But at the same time, I was kind of glad because I didn't have to remember to keep the door closed.  And then about an hour later, Maya ran by with a sock in her mouth.  Apparently she got over her fear of being locked in the closet.

Thieving Puppy

Like most dogs, Maya is a thief.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for me), she's not a very good thief.  She's still a puppy, so I expect her to get into things she's not supposed to, but I swear she'd get away with so much more if she were just a little sneaky about it.

For example, she loves socks.  I don't know if it's because they're soft or fit perfectly in her mouth or just smell really good, but she absolutely loves them.  Whenever she can get her teeth on one, which is more often than I'd like, she takes off running with it in her mouth.  I can't actually catch her, so I either have to trade the sock for a Cheerio or wait for her to get tired of it and set it down.  And since she actually chews on it, and I don't want hole-y socks, she gets a Cheerio.

The reason I say she could get away with more if she were a little sneaky is that she takes off running every time!  If she would just go about her business like normal, even walk away and go sit in a corner, it would take me a lot longer to realize she had something, and she'd keep whatever she had that much longer.  As it is now, if she takes off running, I immediately go see what she's gotten into.

A while back, an out-of-town friend came to stay for a few days so we could attend a mutual friend's wedding.  One night, she left her things in the corner by her suitcase, but didn't put anything inside of it.  After a few minutes, we both see Maya head in that direction and start sniffing around.  Since she wasn't actually in my friend's things, we left her alone.  Not a minute later, she takes off running.  Knowing this is "the sign," I went after her to see what she got, and what do I see but my friend's wedding ring in Maya's mouth!!  I trade her for a few Cheerios and get her ring back, and my friend packed up her stuff and put everything inside the suitcase.

So while Maya is a thief, I guess I should be happy that she's still a bad thief.  If she were any sneakier, I might have been mailing the wedding ring back a few days later.